Who's Who - Max Hussarek von Heinlein
Baron Max Hussarek von
Heinlein (1865-1935) served as Austria's Prime Minister for the final 15
months of World War One.
Born on 3 May 1865 in Pressburg, Slovakia (present-day Bratislava), Hussarek was a professor of canon law at the University of Vienna before determining to undertake a political career.
Prior to his appointment as Prime Minister in July 1917 Hussarek held a succession of minor government posts. From 1911 until 1917 he served as Minister of Education in three successive governments.
Succeeding Clam-Martinic as Prime Minister on 25 July 1917 Hussarek set about the task of restructuring the federal underpinnings of the Habsburg empire as the only means of saving Austria-Hungary from collapse, ultimately without success.
To this end he proposed the creation of an autonomous Croatian state within the wider confines of the empire and, on 16 October 1918, presented Emperor Karl I's October Manifesto with its proposals for a federation of autonomous states. Its subsequent rejection by Hungarian opposition led to his resignation eleven days later.
Following the war Hussarek returned to his academic post, although he later served with Red Cross administration in Vienna and lower Austria in 1923.
He died on 6 March 1935 at the age of 69.
A 'Woolly Bear' comprised a German shrapnel shell, which burst with a cloud-like explosion.
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